Unknown (35 page)
Authors: Unknown
Four left out of forty. The idea that any still around scared me, but only four. I could live with that. It was unfortunate my privileges don't extend to the frequencies these towers work on; else I could have done more than listen. At least what news I had gotten was good.
Billy had breakfast ready for me when I got off work. She wasn't a home-body by nature, but she tried to help me keep from crumbling under the workload and stress of what's happened since we fled. I kept her what I've learned and while we eat we discuss what our next step should be.
This is not the end for me or Billy, not by any stretch. This is just where I stop sharing the narrative of my life. I hope you had managed to take as much from reading about it as I had to in living through it.
Even though I was the only person to write these stories, excluding editors correcting my many and varied mistakes of course without what help I had gotten over the years I could not have finished this collection. If, somehow, by some chance I had managed to write all of this without those people mentioned here it would have likely been a far different thing. So whether they realize they helped or not I feel that thanks must be given that goes beyond a mere dedication.
THE CHINESE:
Though it has a sorted history I wish to thank the Chinese for tea. Without that I likely would have had to rely on colas for my caffeine fix, and they say the stuff has some health benefits. Though on reflection I believe as much as I've had while writing this book would be called, by your average sane and reasonable person 'overdoing it'.
BOBBY SINGLETON:
Though my entire family supports me, I have to credit my father for continual encouragement going way back into when I had first started writing and threw things at him to look at. On reflection these early writings would make me both white with terror that I had shown anyone else these things, and red with embarrassment that he had actually read them. I would like to think that my writing has improved since then. Thanks for keeping faith Dad.
MIKE:
You're even more scatterbrained than I am, but some of the ideas you've offered up has been insightful and, dare I say it, inspirational.
ANGELA:
I thank you, both for your encouragement to keep me writing, and giving my ego much needed deflation when it threatened to overshadow what I'd actually wanted to do.
STEAMPUNK TALES:
This magazine gave me my first real break as a writer. For that reason alone it would be poor manners of me to not mention them here.
http
://
www
.
steampunktales
.
com
NANOWRIMO.ORG:
This non-profit organization has, for the past eleven years, encouraged people to dive head first into the task of telling a story, and damn the excuses or nitpicky things like spelling or grammar. They helped me find a way to embrace my writing as it happens instead of self correct every other word. Without their tireless efforts many people, myself included, probably wouldn't have taken up pen (or in this case keyboard).
http
://
www
.
nanowrimo
.
org
ROBERT MURASAN:
Thank you for providing me with the spark needed both to get a story off the ground, proving to me the cyberpunk genre isn’t as overused as I first thought, and for the support.
http://www.exosyphen.com
Lastly I have to thank anyone and everyone who's picked up or downloaded this collection. You are why I do this.
I love you Mom.
Even though I was the only person to write these stories, excluding editors correcting my many and varied mistakes of course without what help I had gotten over the years I could not have finished this collection. If, somehow, by some chance I had managed to write all of this without those people mentioned here it would have likely been a far different thing. So whether they realize they helped or not I feel that thanks must be given that goes beyond a mere dedication.
THE CHINESE:
Though it has a sorted history I wish to thank the Chinese for tea. Without that I likely would have had to rely on colas for my caffeine fix, and they say the stuff has some health benefits. Though on reflection I believe as much as I've had while writing this book would be called, by your average sane and reasonable person 'overdoing it'.
BOBBY SINGLETON:
Though my entire family supports me, I have to credit my father for continual encouragement going way back into when I had first started writing and threw things at him to look at. On reflection these early writings would make me both white with terror that I had shown anyone else these things, and red with embarrassment that he had actually read them. I would like to think that my writing has improved since then. Thanks for keeping faith Dad.
MIKE:
You're even more scatterbrained than I am, but some of the ideas you've offered up has been insightful and, dare I say it, inspirational.
ANGELA:
I thank you, both for your encouragement to keep me writing, and giving my ego much needed deflation when it threatened to overshadow what I'd actually wanted to do.
STEAMPUNK TALES:
This magazine gave me my first real break as a writer. For that reason alone it would be poor manners of me to not mention them here.
http
://
www
.
steampunktales
.
com
NANOWRIMO.ORG:
This non-profit organization has, for the past eleven years, encouraged people to dive head first into the task of telling a story, and damn the excuses or nitpicky things like spelling or grammar. They helped me find a way to embrace my writing as it happens instead of self correct every other word. Without their tireless efforts many people, myself included, probably wouldn't have taken up pen (or in this case keyboard).
http
://
www
.
nanowrimo
.
org
ROBERT MURASAN:
Thank you for providing me with the spark needed both to get a story off the ground, proving to me the cyberpunk genre isn’t as overused as I first thought, and for the support.
http://www.exosyphen.com
Lastly I have to thank anyone and everyone who's picked up or downloaded this collection. You are why I do this.
I love you Mom.